Burakumin groups angry at Google Earth

The AP reports that certain groups representing burakumin in Japan are angry because Google included Edo period maps of Japan in its map collection available on Google Earth, allowing users to identify areas associated with burakumin:

Google Earth’s maps pinpointed several such areas. One village in Tokyo was clearly labeled “eta,” a now strongly derogatory word for burakumin that literally means “filthy mass.” A single click showed the streets and buildings that are currently in the same area.

Google posted the maps as one of many “layers” available via its mapping software, each of which can be easily matched up with modern satellite imagery. The company provided no explanation or historical context, as is common practice in Japan. Its basic stance is that its actions are acceptable because they are legal, one that has angered burakumin leaders.

“If there is an incident because of these maps, and Google is just going to say ‘it’s not our fault’ or ‘it’s down to the user,’ then we have no choice but to conclude that Google’s system itself is a form of prejudice,” said Toru Matsuoka, a member of Japan’s upper house of parliament.

Asked about its stance on the issue, Google responded with a formal statement that “we deeply care about human rights and have no intention to violate them.”

Google spokesman Yoshito Funabashi points out that the company doesn’t own the maps in question, it simply provides them to users. Critics argue they come packaged in its software, and the distinction is not immediately clear.

Google is breaking no laws in its display of old maps.

I spent about an hour exploring some of the Edo period maps available on Google Earth [which are, by the way, incredibly awesome]. Unfortunately, since I know about as much about burakumin as the average Japanese person, I didn’t have much luck in finding one of the Eta-mura described, so here’s the screenshot the AP used:

Update: I discovered why I couldn’t find the buraku villages. Google has already censored the 1806 map of Osaka:

It’s right near the present day location of Ashiharabashi Station. I have no issues informing the world of this fact because it is not a secret: the Wikipedia article about that part of Osaka (Naniwa-ku), is quite open in reporting that the area has a large burakumin community. The Osaka Human Rights Museum (mostly dedicated to the history of discrimination against burakumin) is located in Naniwa-ku.

Someone better update the uni professors on the issue, as I clearly remember taking a class on ancient Japan and learning all about the “eta”, considered filthy because they handled dead flesh. (Like a butcher)

And these days “Burakumin” is a derogatory word, too, except apparently not up here in Tohoku area for whatever reason.

lmshea

The poor babies. If they are so offended why do they STILL continue to discriminate against “different” people?

randomcommenter

Groups representing burakumin in Japan discriminate against different people? That’s news to me.

Ikunochan

I experienced discrimination for the first time here when I unknowingly went shopping in a former buraku area of Hirano (Osaka area) with my husband. It’s really the only place in Japan I’ve been so far where I’ve been treated rudely in a direct way.

My husband (Japanese) noticed it, too, so I knew it wasn’t just me being potentially oversensitive. When he told his co-workers the next day about what a strange experience it was, they let him in on the history of that area of town, and about how they can be rather hostile toward anyone who seems foreign to the community. *shrug*

hoihoi

they discriminated themselves because money.
Insisting discrimination is very advantageous for money , job etc

parcivale

What financial benefit is there to being called burakumin today?

http://victorymanual.com/ Alex

I think he’s insinuating that they create the discriminatory divide themselves in order to be able to win reparations in court? But that would mean they were somehow all in on it together, like they hold secret meetings and swear oaths to keep everything level across the playing field.

Aceface

15trillion yen for the burakumin related affirmative actions in the past 30 years.And there are quotas for the local public servants in certain areas like Kyoto.

Tax deduction.
Getting public jobs without test.
And many supecial subsidies and welfares only for them.
But some of them have discontinuied very recently after this book was published.
ISBN-13: 978-4796635462

Burakumin isn’t secret but the darkside of Burakumin society is the biggest secret.
If you want to know, please google with these keywords

Interestingly I was taught about burakumin at my university in Osaka, with the professor using the word burakumin instead of something more PC.

pixel_bomber

It seems like these maps are historical documents and I think people have a right to see them. Maybe people are not proud of this part of history but trying to hide it just makes no sense.

The problems that exist today need to be addressed. It would be nice if people could look at things like these maps and see how far we have come as a culture rather than use them as a tool to discriminate.

sliders_alpha

i agree, history is history, you cannot change it because you don’t like it

http://victorymanual.com/ Alex

At least in societies that don’t satisfy Orwell’s vision, of course.

os

Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.
George Orwell – Nineteen Eighty-Four

Shame on google

Darien Shields

I think it’s interesting because… how to put it? I’m not familiar with a lot of racism, but when I am, it’s usually cases when it’s impossible to hide one’s race- i.e. caucasians and asians, or people of african descent, etc. In the case of Burakumin, since this case there is no actual literal genetic divide between the burakumin and the rest of the Japanese population- it’s a purely social distinction.

(Although that makes me wonder if it’s “racism” and not some other form of discrimination? I don’t know)

Anyway, what I find interesting is that burakumin people are keen to hide and forget the fact that their burakumin to avoid discrimination- rather than fighting for acceptance and equality. I’m not saying they don’t do the latter, but their response here is clearly an attempt to hide things- to stop people from identifying burakumin who don’t want to be identified as burakumin.

I suppose ignoring it is the easier path- if everyone just forgets that such a distinction ever existed, there wouldn’t be huge problems. But I think in the long run a better, perhaps more difficult path, would be to confront the issue, and for the affected groups to actually demand a little respect.

randomcommenter

I think you’re still equating it with racism, though. You say that they are keen to forget the “fact” that they are burakumin, as if it were a reality. It’s not. They are neither genetically nor culturally different than anyone else. They are only burakumin if people believe that they are. There is no underlying “fact” to forget.

http://www.squidoo.com/Best-Books-on-Japan Eric

“There is no underlying “fact” to forget.”

Of course there is underlying fact to the history of the Barakumin. They were just like India’s untouchables: a group at the very bottom of the caste system, in fact so low that they were not even considered part of it due to their “unclean” jobs. Another fact is that are still companies today that do background checks on job candidates and screen out anyone whose ancestors come from a Barakumin area.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8C%E5%92%8C%E5%88%A9%E6%A8%A9 Isa

Another fact is that are still companies today that do background checks

That’s pretty much urban legend.
It’s almost impossible to find out especially after “Kojin Joho Hogo Ho”.
And referring “Jinshin Koseki” has banned since 1968.
Temples nowadays do not allow visitors to see “Kakocho”.

Marcello

Censoring the maps seems to me equal to deleting all the images of “Colored Only” signs from the USA, or any other photo of things we’d prefer to forget.

History is history.

The eta mura maps have the capacity to be abused just as much as the “Colored Only” photos could be abused by “white pride” guys. But that’s no reason to censor them.

randomcommenter

The eta mura maps have a capacity to be abused way more than the “Colored Only” signs do. WAY more.

Deepspacebeans

So in order for people to be aware of the discrimination and to stop it in modern society (a campaign that has been quite successful but mostly just through the growing apathy of the general populace), we should erase such words from history? They are on the wrong side of this issue.

Marcus

I agree with most of the other comments. Trying to erase history is futile and should never be defended unless the circumstances are extremely unique and really do call for it (to prevent a genocide or something).

randomcommenter

Actually, the erasure of a lot of this history has been what has helped decrease the discrimination. I’ve talked with more than a few Japanese who pointed out that, growing up, there was no burakumin discrimination around them until they learned about burakumin in school…at which point some students started getting ostracized for their family background. It seems insane and impossible, but when it comes to burakumin (or similar caste based discrimination, like the Outcasts in India), ignorance works really, really well.

Major Poop

Sweeping problems under the tatami again are we Japan? Tsk tsk.

lovely

this sort of puts a new spin on the “we japanese…..” arguement. yeah, right. replying to a commentor above – not only companies but potential spouses` histories are scruntinzed for any “unclean” line.

hoihoi

in Japanese history, the most discriminated ppl was Aizu ppl though they revived their honnor
They received a treatment that was crueller than Ainu and Buraku.

randomcommenter

If the problem itself is “climbing out from under the tatami”, then, yeah, sweeping the problem under the tatami is the logical thing to do.

Burakumin discrimination generally takes the form of “this area was a burakumin area, therefore people from that area are burakumin, and are therefore scum”. Trying to convince people that deciding a group is scum is a wrong choice is a noble but extremely difficult thing. Far better to attack on both fronts: try to convince them not to discriminate, and eliminate the information that an area used to be a burakumin area.

It’s kind of like fighting fire: you can remove the oxygen, reduce the temperature, or reduce the fuel. You don’t blame forest rangers for trying to put out forest fires by dumping water on the fire and also making fire breaks, instead of just dumping water on the fire.

Garamon

Most “untouchables” in India at least have the hope of a better life through reincarnation…